This is a list I've been wanting to compile for awhile. Ignoring technique, chin, stamina, etc. — I want to write about the pure punchers. These are the guys with one punch KO power.

In writing this list, I had three considerations: they had to be active in their division, the power had to be relative to their weight, and there had to be reputable documentation of their punching prowess. That last qualification is why Kimbo Slice didn't make the grade here ;)

So without further adieu, here's who I regard as the 5 hardest punchers in boxing:

1. Randall Bailey 43(37)-8 KO%71.4

If you happened upon the Bailey-Alexander fight last weekend, you will have happened upon the most boring bout on the Barclay's card. There's a reason for that. Alexander was doing all he could to avoid Bailey's right hand.

Bailey is the purest puncher in the sport — and the hardest pound-for-pound. He's slow of foot, and rarely let's his fists fly. But when they do, the result is a concussive explosion.

A maxim of boxing is that the lower the weight, the harder it is to get the KOs. Yet, Roman Gonzalez has spent the bulk of his career at Strawweight, and has only been fighting as a Jr. Flyweight for the past three years.

Now, look at those stats above. They're pretty incredible. But what's more incredible is that since moving up to Jr. Flyweight, only one fight has ended by decision.

If you looked at his raw stats, they're deceiving. Truth is, ever since the KO of Fernando Montiel, every opponent Donaire has faced has been deathly afraid of his left hook.

In Donaire's last fight, Toshiaki Nishioka bizarrely kept his forearm covered over his face in fear of being KOed. It didn't matter. Donaire fed him with a left uppercut instead — and the fight was stopped in round 9.

Fact is, there's only two modes of fighting Donaire right now: you either stay defensive and never ever open up (like Omar Narvaez did), or you make things exciting and chance being KOed. This is not only what makes Donaire one of the best punchers in boxing, but one of the best pound-for-pound all-around fighters.

Anyone who saw Golovkin's debut was in for a wake-up call. GGG cold-cocked a game Grzegorsz Proksa — who himself was a pretty damn good puncher. But against Golovkin, he was so dead he should have dug his own grave before the fight.

Truth is, Golovkin hasn't won a fight by decision since 2008. For more than four years, every fight has ended the same: by KO. One gets the sense when watching Golovkin that fights last only as long as he feels like it.

When Golovkin spars, he beats up heavyweights. For this reason, he's the most avoided man in the middleweight division. Anyone with enough balls to face him ends up regretting it.

I've asked heavyweights on Twitter about their opinions on Wilder. The consensus is always the same: Wilder may not be the real deal, but his right hand is.

Heavyweights are supposed to have one punch KO power. And for sure, Wilder has never fought an elite opponent. However, it is rare for a fighter — even a heavyweight — to have 25 KOs in all of his 25 fights.

I have no doubt that Wilder's streak will end eventually. Perhaps he'll be exposed once he fights any top 10 heavyweight. But there's no doubt in my mind that right now he's one of the best pure punchers in the heavyweight division.

I'm so damn excited to see Deontay Wilder getting popular. He could possibly be the next big thing in boxing. Maybe he has a good chin, maybe he turns into a better boxer. Once he completes his game he could be unstoppable. Time will tell.

Wilder is in Wlad's camp for the Wach fight and they seem to be hitting it off. If Wlad isn't completely shutting him down in sparring, this could only help him learn a thing or two to go along with his power.

Great list, thanks for compiling and posting. My 2 cents is that I would replace Wilder with Matthysse. Lucas has dropped everyone including Devon who stayed on his feet vs Bailey. Kirkland bangs too but he doesn't quite make the list based on recent inactivity/awkward jail.

wilder sparred round after round with fraudley and didn't do shit fraudley must have been stung cause he said he hits like a mule but wilder never so much as wobbled him .. price took care of audley quicker than than u could eat a peanut butter sandwich - i reckon GGG hits mighty hard but we need to see him in with some higher level comp personally i'd like to see GGG v chavez (not that it will happen) one thing u can say about jnr is that he can take a punch if GGG finishes him inside 12 then GGG is the real deal

oh yeah I know ... but still ... it doesn't hurt your rep if you do! Half Golovkin's hype is due to what he has supposidly done in sparring and anyway wilder has fought nothing but bums so far ... let him KO somebody half decent and then stick him on the list.

Going by what I'm reading on Twitter from other heavyweights who've sparred with him, Deontay hits harder than others. Maurenzo Smith particularly speaks highly of him.

I suspect Wilder will be stepping up quite soon since he's getting a slot on Showtime in December. Hopefully, it will be against someone like Kelvin Price or Chazz Witherspoon. Those would be decent tests.

This is why I love r/boxing. A great list. Somebody giving Ramon Gonzalez a bit of recognition. I've heard a lot of buzz about Deontay Wilder - the dude's got power, for sure. Interested to see how he gets on!

There's something about Golovkin, I think he does have some special power. I can't put my finger on why I think this way, and maybe I'm wrong, but I'll be fun to see how his career goes. Deontay Wilder, imho, isn't much, he has a promoter that finds him tomato cans, that's it.

Can't rate Wilder until he's beaten someone who isn't a tomato can. He's got heavy hands but so do most heavyweights.

There's a vast under-appreciation for Wladimir Klitschko here too. The man knocks out and terrifies others with jabs. Emmanuel Steward said something about Wlad having one of the most powerful punches he's ever seen. Excusing the fact he's a heavyweight, he definitely has 1 punch KO power.

GGG is justified, equal power in both hands is a rare thing. Matthysse definitely deserves a mention too.

A lot of this hype seems to be coming out of the Proksa fight. I saw Proksa beaten by a very ordinary domestic level fighter in Kerry Hope (17-4/ko rate 4%) earlier this year and he looked like the classic plodder. Durable and slow, ideal for making guys look good.

Golovkin had hype before the Proksa fight. That fight just amped up the excitement because it was shown on HBO. But it was a fact, previous to this fight, that Felix Sturm was avoiding his mandatory against Golovkin at almost all cost.

Addressing Proksa, yes he got beaten by Hope on an off night, but he also avenged that defeat by KO. Also keep in mind that Proksa completely obliterated Sebastian Sylvester in one of the best ass kickings I've seen in recent memory.

Not saying, of course, that Proksa is a Marvin Hagler. But since Golovkin-Proksa, the middleweight picture has gotten more interesting. We now have Martinez at top spot, and Geale, Golovkin, and Quillin contending for second place.

Donaire once fought as a Flyweight, and wasn't even a Bantamweight till 2010. Of course, KO percentage doesn't always tell the entire story. Watch his one punch KOs of Vic Darchinyan and Fernando Montiel.

Matthysse did not drop Zab Judah or Devon Alexander. While his power is impressive, I simply don't rate it as good relative to his size as Randall Bailey's.